A COURT case involving the first women to be prosecuted for illegally wearing a burka was abandoned... when they refused to remove their burkas in court.

The defendants, who have only given their first names Najet and Hind, were due to appear in a court just outside Paris, after allegedly breaking France's burka ban which prevents people covering their faces in public.

But when Hind tried to enter the court building, in full burka, she was stopped by police.

Najet did not even bother to turn up.

Hind, who is using the prosecution to challenge the ban, said: “I'll keep my veil on at all times - it's non-negotiable. “The law forbids me from expressing myself, and indeed from defending myself. It forces me to dress a certain way, when all I want to do is live according to my religion.”

And police, who are banned from physically removing veils, were forced to ask her to leave.

Proceedings have been abandoned while prosecutors work out how best to deal with the situation.

Under the new French law both women face fines of £140 ($226) for wearing full face veils as they travelled to an anti-burka ban protest in Paris.